Shang Stanton
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Charles "Shang" Stanton was a gunfighter of the American frontier, whose killing of Slim Jim Shumway on April 25th, 1872 provided the impetus for establishing Clay County, Minnesota government in Moorhead, Minnesota.[1]
Setting
In the spring of 1872, Shang Stanton was a gambler and gunfighter who had gravitated, with many others, to the unfinished western end of the under-construction Northern Pacific Railway. According to pioneer and attorney Solomon Comstock, the terminus of the railroad attracted many unsavory and violent characters. "In the bad old days when Moorhead was a small tent town at track end and when most of the buildings were dance halls, saloons, or gambling houses, the gunman was here too. He followed the track. He boasted that he would die with his boots on and he usually did. The talk of his six shooters was often heard." [2]
Gunfight with Slim Jim Shumway
Stanton and Shumway had had a disagreement in a gambling hall on the evening of Wednesday, April 24th. According to a contemporary report in The Duluth Minnesotian Herald, "It seems these two men had exchanged some words not intended to be complimentary, and had parted somewhat out of temper." The following morning Shumway looked for Stanton, and put word out that he intended to demand satisfaction. This word was passed to Stanton, who waited in a saloon. The confrontation between the two men was not a duel. Shumway entered the saloon, approached Stanton from behind, and shoved him. Stanton whirled around, stuck his revolver into Shumway's belly, and fired. Stanton fled, and the mortally wounded Shumway tried follow, running into the street and firing wildly in all directions. One of Shumway's bullets struck and killed the owner of a neighboring saloon, JP Thompson of the Orleans Club. [3]
Disposition of the Case
Following his killing of Shumway, Stanton was arrested by a posse and held for trial. Establishment of a county government had to precede any trial, so on the day of the shooting, Peter Wilson and Andrew Holes were sworn in as County Commissioners, and they in turn appointed Jim Blanchard as county sheriff, Solomon Comstock as county attorney, and David Grant as Justice of the Peace. [4] Though Stanton was eventually released, his handgun, a Colt 1849 Pocket Revolver with a silver finish and a carved solid ivory handle, ended up in the possession of a local Kiefer family [5] It is not known what subsequently became of Stanton.
References
- ^ https://www.thefmextra.com/the-gunfight-that-created-clay-countys-government/
- ^ https://www.thefmextra.com/the-gunfight-that-created-clay-countys-government/
- ^ https://www.thefmextra.com/the-gunfight-that-created-clay-countys-government/
- ^ https://www.thefmextra.com/the-gunfight-that-created-clay-countys-government/
- ^ https://hcsmuseum.pastperfectonline.com/archive/733DF65E-3F32-4186-977D-684636278203